Chaplaincy/Heart Care

We’re planning to open a mobile cafe at a shelter in Ibaraki-ken on Saturday, Oct.17th. Would you make baked sweets for survivors with love?
If you can bring them to our office on Friday, Oct 16th, please send us a message:) Onegaishimasu!

CRASH Japan’s volunteer team worked as emotional and spiritual caregivers in Joso city.

Many people there, both survivors and relief workers, look tired, even exhausted. As we served coffees, cookies, cakes, and crepes, they were reminded that they needed to take a break.

Our emotional care coordinator Helen Kwak brought her dog Chappy – she listened to survivors while Chappy brought some smiles to faces in his own way.

CRASH Japan is working with Salvation Army and DRC Net on a training program for emotional and spiritual caregivers and disaster response chaplains. In the US this type of cooperation between groups might be normal, but in Japan it is historic!

Please keep praying for Japanese Christians and CRASH Japan. Our dream is that emotional and spiritual care might become one of the significant missions of Japanese Christian churches.

Dear Prayer Partners and Supporters
Thank you for your prayers!
On October 2 Fri CRASH Japan sent a volunteer team to Joso city (Mitsukaido Gymnasium). Thanks to the help of the Salvation Army (they let us use a canteen car and truck and sent two staff to help us!), we opened a mobile cafe and served three kind of crapes (chocolate, chestnut cream, and red beans cream) and coffee to the survivors, volunteers, and civil services there.
Helen Kwak（Our care coordinator）opened an “active listening space.” Survivors sat in the tent and enjoyed cookies, crapes and coffee. It was a great opportunity to provide emotional and spiritual care to them.
It was also such a great opportunity for us to work with the Salvation Army. We learned a lot of practical wisdom from them.

Focusing on Emotional and Spiritual Care

Takahito is going to speak about “Emotional and Spiritual Care and Self-Care”. Helen will lead a workshop entitled “Ministry of Presence and Compassion Fatigue: Heart, Soul, Mind, and Power”.

Even after 4 years since March 2011, the ministry of emotional and spiritual care has been getting more critical for the churches, pastors, and Christians in Tohoku who continue to serve the survivors. Please remember in your prayers that CRASH Japan continues to work for the survivors and care workers in Tohoku.

Please continue to help CRASH Japan spiritually and financially. Your donations will enables us to serve survivors, churches, and Christians in Japan.

Pastors and Christians from Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki, and the other Tohoku areas came and learned “Emotional and Spiritual Care for Survivors” and “Self Care”. You can see in the photos how seriously they were learning and enjoying fellowship.